It’s going to unshackle us from the oppressive dungeon of fiat currency! But also criminals and rogue cops use it to do nefarious drug stuff! Digital currency is often defined by its volatile hype cycle. And yet its most promising feature is incredibly mundane-sounding: a bookkeeping system called “the blockchain.” »4/15/15 4:44pm 4/15/15 4:44pm

Look at this little dinosaur toy. Is he cute? Yes. Fun? Definitely. The possible harbinger of humanity's demise? Possibly. That's because CogniToys aren't not normal toys. Green Dino here is powered by IBM's Watson supercomputer, which lets it learn and adapt to your child over time, kind of like a self-aware Furby. »2/16/15 12:00pm 2/16/15 12:00pm

Every year, some 50 million lithium-ion laptop batteries find their way to the trash heap. IBM researchers in India have come up with a better idea. Many of those batteries still contain useable cells, which can be used to keep the lights on in homes without reliable access to the grid. »12/04/14 2:10pm 12/04/14 2:10pm

LCD Soundsystem's frontman James Murphy announced an ambitious project last month to turn all the tennis data gathered from the U.S. Open into algorithm-generated music. In total, that would be about 400 hours of music total. »9/10/14 11:32am 9/10/14 11:32am

The surreal strength of IBM's famous supercomputer, Watson, is now available to the public (for a fee). And to mark the occasion, the company threw a little party last week and served a very blue cocktail. Naturally, I whipped up my own slight variation when I got back to the office. I call it the Big Blue Hurricane. »9/05/14 5:00pm 9/05/14 5:00pm

Cognitive computing has been one of our most exciting frontiers for years. It's enticing to think that we can someday build a computer that's as powerful and as efficient as a brain. IBM's latest miracle chip just got us closer than ever. »8/07/14 2:00pm 8/07/14 2:00pm

The USAA has announced that it's recruiting IBM's Watson for its first-ever consumer-facing application—and it'll help military members transition back into civilian life.»7/28/14 5:00am 7/28/14 5:00am